The Fog
by Clutch19
Summary: When the fog comes, things get hazier. Now the girls have nobody to rely on except for themselves, they are challenged to be able to survive the madness that strike them without splitting apart. Contains OCs and OOCness
1. Chapter 1: Premonition

**Chapter 1: Premonition**

**A/N : **1st Fanfic I've made... tried to cross K-On with Persona 4... got the idea from my certain friend who is a maniac at Persona series... reviews please**  
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* * *

><p>It's just another day in their lives. Another normal day. At the beginning, at least…<p>

"Onee-chan, it's time to wake up already."

"Five more minutes, please~~~"

"Don't go back to sleep, onee-chan! You have school today, right?"

It's just the everyday routine in the Hirasawa residence as Ui Hirasawa went on a tough task every morning - waking up her dear _older_ sister, Yui Hirasawa. They both attended Sakuragaoka High School, where Yui was a third – year and Ui in her first year there. After finally waking up from her trance, Yui strolled her way downstairs to have her breakfast. "Toasted bread! Surely a perfect meal to open up this day—" The brunette was just looking to eat the bread as Ui shouted, "Ah, onee-chan, look at the time! They said that our usual road to school will be blocked due to temporary flood from yesterday's rain."

"And that means?"

"We have to take a detour, onee-chan, and it takes 10 more minutes than usual. We will be late if we don't leave now."

"But I haven't eat my breakfast yet~~~"

"Here, I will put it in your lunch box, so you can eat it later during the first break."

And so, the Hirasawa sisters ran their way to the school. Luckily, they arrived there five minutes before the bell rang. It's just another day in their school. It _seemed_ to be.

* * *

><p>*ding, dong, ding, dong*<p>

"And that concludes our sessions for today. Don't forget to review what you've learned later at home!" Sawako Yamanaka, the home-room teacher ended their class for that day.

"Man, I'm totally beaten up! I mean, two tests in a day? You got to be kidding me!" Ritsu Tainaka, the Light Music Club's president, yawned as she stretched her stiff body. "What are you expecting? We're students in the first place, you know." Mio Akiyama calmly responded as she closed a novel she was skim-reading.

"But two tests in a day? It's like one is not bad enough!" The brunette went on.

"Ritsu-senpai, you should learn some attitude from Mio-senpai. You are graduating this year, right? No wonder they will be more strict. Do you want to fail your tests?" Azusa Nakano, the only second-year member in the club, tried to persuade her senior.

"Of course not, but—"

"Cakes and tea for today, everyone. It's the Black Forest and Earl Grey." Tsumugi Kotobuki cut her speech as she elegantly poured the premiere tea to everyone's cup. It's, once again, another routine in their usual life. Having tea was their specialty, as their band name suggested, "Afterschool Tea Time."

"Ah~~~ it feels like I'm back to life again!" said Ritsu. The drummer sipped the tea before continuing on munching her cake. They were eating calmly, when Yui stormed in and did her usual hug to her beloved junior.

"Yui-senpai, let me go~~~"

"I'm charging my energy~~~"

"We have to practice, jeez!"

The other band members couldn't help but laughed at this unique pair. But after all of them finished eating their snacks, they started practicing right away. First, they played _Go! Go! Maniac_. And then _Cagayake! Girls_. Their last song for the day's jam session was _Utauyo! Miracle_. But somehow, those upbeat songs felt less powerful than usual. The drum was certainly too soft, while the keyboard's trademark powerful synth chord was dull. The twin guitar seemed to be in disarray, while the bass only added a weak strum sound. Something was definitely wrong with the girls. But they didn't seem to express their worries one another. Perhaps it's something personal?

* * *

><p>"Father, Mother, are you feeling okay? You looked pale." Azusa asked her sick parents. They had been in that state since morning – lying at their bed, coughing blood. They were unconscious when they weren't choking. Azusa's mind was sticking to this certain matter even when she's at school. No wonder her rhythmic guitar missed a few notes as she spaced out. But her parents gave no reaction, and the twin-tailed girl drifted back to her room, mind as thick as the fog outside. The rhythm guitarist tried to call 911, but the lines were always busy. "Strange. It's clearly unusual to have all 10 lines of the 911 busy. Must be some kind of widespread disease striking the city right now." The more she thought about it, the heavier her mind became. So she decided to sleep over it, hoping it was just a bad day in her life, a drop of ink in her white life's canvas. But deep down, she was depressed. Her mind was overflowing with bad thoughts. She didn't have any siblings, so she was completely on her own without her parents. She strolled through her memories, trying to savor her quality time with the band. She remembered that despite she often snapped at Yui or Ritsu for slacking off, all of them had been another family. They were always there to help one another when problems approached. And just like that, she somehow felt less worry. "I'll try to talk with them tomorrow. Maybe they know something that I don't."<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey Satoshi, how have you been? You seemed less energetic than usual." Ritsu unable to hide her shock to see her brother's half - lidded eyes. "Want me to make some dinner? There's some meat in the freeze, I could make some Hamburg steak, you know."<p>

"No, thank you, onee-chan. I'm not feeling like it. By the way, you should check on our parents. They are in their room, and they have been sleeping for 14 hours by now."

"14 hours? That's preposterous! Have they asked for anything?"

"No, they only woke up at 4 p.m. They vomited at the restroom, and then went back to sleep. When I asked them if they're okay, Dad just gave me a nod without saying anything. I offered to make some food, but he rejected it. Not that I'm able to cook anything anyway…" Satoshi tried to fill his sister in the situation they had been trapped in. And by stating his inability to cook, he wasn't referring to his skills, since Ritsu had taught him to cook. He was clearly referring to his state. With that droopy eyes, it's clear that he also needed much sleep.

"Alright, I'll check on them. You just get yourself some rest then." Ritsu glanced at her younger brother worriedly before sprinting upstairs.

"Don't forget to take off your shoes first, onee-chan…" Satoshi whispered as he slipped to his room and rested on his bed.

"Dad? Mom? Are you okay? You don't look so good..." The brunette whispered softly while kneeling beside her parents' bed. They gave no reaction. But it was obvious to the amber-eyed girl that her parents were suffering. They sweated a lot.

"It can't be a normal nightmare. This slumber is far from normal." She tried to call the 911, but she was unable to reach them. "Damn! Why the busy signs right now, of all time?" She finally decided to go back to her room and did her homework. Somehow she just didn't feel to play at all. She went right to sleep after that, mind full of stresses.

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><p>"I'm home!"<p>

Silence filled the house of Akiyama residence as Mio didn't get any answer.

"Perhaps they were sleeping. It's better for me not to bug them in their sleep." The left-handed bassist took off her shoes and began to walk to her room. But as she heard a cough from her parents' room, she felt that she need to check on her parents. "Well, it won't hurt for just a peek, right?" She thought as she carefully approached her parents' room.

"Father, Mother, are you okay?"

Silence again filled the house

"Oh, they're just sleeping soundly- Ah!" Mio shrieked as her eyes found traces of blood in her parent's pillow. "It can't be right! So they were coughing blood? Better call for 911…"

But as it turned out, the lines were busy. So the helpless Mio tried to cook some soup to comfort her parents. Her mind was surely not there, though, as she nearly forgot to turn off the stove.

"Father, Mother, would you like some warm soup? I'm sure it'll help ease your pains…"

No answer.

"I'll just put it here. I'm sure they will eat it when they woke up later. It's quite late already, I better get some sleep now or I will be sleepy tomorrow."

As she was on her bed, she still wondered if her parents were okay. She is their only child, after all. She's the only family they had. She's the only person they could rely. With these thoughts, she found herself unable to sleep at first. But she finally fell asleep, cherishing her joy with the band.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Ricchan~~~"<p>

"G' morning, Yui. You seemed less energetic. Not enough sleep last night?"

"No, I was just looking for Azunyan—Ah! There she is! Azunyan~~~" Yui hugged her ruby-eyed junior just as she stepped into the music room.

"Jeez, Yui-senpai, learn some maturity. I'm not a doll, you know…"

"But you just fit my hug~~~"

"Let me go~~~"

Yui finally let her out-of-breath junior walked away as she went to her chair and began sipping her Assam tea from her cup.

"Azunyan, join us here! Mugi prepared a wonderful tea today! Though it's black and all~~"

"Yui-chan, it is an Assam tea. Black is it's natural color. After all, never judge a book by it's cover, right?" Mugi explained happily to Yui.

"By the way, did any of you notice the fog hanging around? Kind of giving me the creeps." Ritsu tried to start a conversation.

"Yeah, I noticed that it has been there since last night." Mio added on. "I heard from the weather forecast that it will stay for today."

Talking about last night made Azusa somehow recalled the night's event, where her parents got sick.

"Oh yeah, last night my parents were sick. They were coughing blood. So if it's okay with you seniors, I would like to skip today's practice. I have to look after them." She reluctantly brought up the topic that had been bugging her mind for the day.

"Hey, wait a minute. Were they fast asleep while coughing blood?" The raven-haired bassist suddenly raising her tone.

"Y-yes, they were-"

"My parents also suffered from that!"

"Hey, were they sleeping for a long time? 'Cause my parents were! Haven't seen if they were coughing blood or not, though." The amber-eyed drummer joined in.

"What about you two, Yui, Mugi?" The brunette turned her attention to both of them. "Are your parents okay?"

"Well my parents lived in Finland, but they didn't contact me at all yesterday… I'm worried though…" The sapphire-eyed keyboardist answered slowly. They somehow detected sadness in her voice, but was disrupted when the lead guitarist joined in.

"Well, my parents were in France. They were planning to go back to Japan today, but they said that their flight was canceled due to the weather. No surprise though, looking at this fog, and all…"

The atmosphere was heavy all of a sudden. The fog hanging outside was fading, but somehow the girls had the feeling that it wasn't any sign of good things to happen.


	2. Chapter 2: Prelude

**Chapter 2: Prelude**

"For tomorrow's weather forecast, thanks to the rain, the fog shall be lifted. You can expect sun to be shining all day long for the entire week." The newsreader read the prediction for the upcoming days. "As for the disease, our national laboratory said that you can expect it to be ended soon. It was probably because of the fog, and that it shouldn't have any side effects."

* * *

><p>*beep, beep, beep, beep"<p>

"Hmm… Funny, Mio's not picking up." Ritsu looked quizzically at her phone. She had been trying to call her childhood friend to walk to school together for the past five minutes, but none of her calls were picked up. "Perhaps she's having breakfast right now. I'll just pick her up, then…"

*ting, tong*

"Yes? Oh, Ritsu-chan? I thought Mio was walking with you?" Ms. Akiyama asked the brunette, who looked as puzzled as her.

"Huh? I was calling her all the way here. Thought she was having breakfast… Oh well, I'll walk alone, then. Excuse me!" The amber-eyed grinned at her best friend's mother, before jogging her way to the school. _It sure feels different, walking to school with and without Mio. But why is she avoiding me? Did I make any mistakes? I'm sure her birthday is next month. She still phoned me yesterday night. What could possibly happen in such a short span?_ Ritsu was too immersed in her own thoughts that she bumped into Mugi near the station.

"Whoa! Sorry, Mugi! Good morning!"

"No problem, Ricchan! Good morning to you, too!"

"How are you?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine, thank you! What about you?"

"Hehe, same here!"

"Huh? Where's Mio-chan? You usually walk together with her to school… Something happened?"

"Not really… She still talked with me until yesterday night… But she wasn't picking up when I called her this morning… And her mother told me that she had gone to school."

"Strange, Mio-chan won't be angry without any legitimate reason… Let's talk to her later, shall we?"

"Sure!"

* * *

><p>"Mio-chan?" Mugi approached her friend carefully. She was sitting in her chair, but somehow the atmosphere was different. It was… heavy. "Are you okay?"<p>

"Does that matter? Or does it concern you in any way?" Mio's voice was rather low, cold, but every word seemed to be as sharp as needle, able to pierce one's soul. Mugi was rather taken aback by the cold response she got.

"Hey, what's with you? You didn't pick my phone this morning, and you also walked to school alone. What's wrong?"

"And how will any of the actions mentioned above satisfy me? Or profit me, in any way?"

"Huh? What's that?"

"Get lost. Now. I'm in a foul mood. Don't disturb me." Stormy grey eyes glared to Ritsu's amber ones. The eye contact broke when another brunette and her high-pitched voice came from the door.

"Ah, good morning, everyone!"

"Oh, Yui-chan, good morning to you, too…" Mugi trailed off as Mio suddenly grabbed Ritsu by her collar. "Mio-chan? What's wrong?" Yui tried to separate them, but Mio elbowed her hard at her left nose, sending the girl down to the floor, her back hitting a desk behind her. Gasps were heard, as the entire class was looking at them anxiously, puzzled at the sudden tension. Mugi tried to help Yui back up, and gasped when she saw Yui's nose was bleeding.

"Oh, you're bleeding! Hold this tissue now, just look above, and let me take you to the infirmary." Mugi tried to keep her composure as she ushered the poor guitarist.

"Hey, what's that for? Are you mad?" The drummer was furious, exasperated with the bassist's actions.

"I. Don't. Give. A. Fucking. Care. About. That. I warn you now. Don't get in my way, or you will end up like her." She coldly cussed, shocking the entire class. Ritsu was clenching her fist when suddenly the door slid open, and their homeroom teacher, Sawako, entered the class, forcing Mio to let go of Ritsu's collar. But before the shorter girl walked away, the raven-haired whispered something that reverberated in the brunette's head.

"_We'll settle this after school. You. Me. Rooftop."_

She scratched the back of her head. Frustrated. How come, a scaredy-cat like Mio, turned like that? Hitting her friend seriously was something she had never done before. _Did I do something wrong? Hell, even though I did, there's no way she could cuss like that… What's gotten into her? Is this some kind of joke? Not a chance. Could it be a kind of mind-intruding disease? Or…or…_

"Tainaka? Please answer the equation here." Sawako broke the brunette from her trance. 2 * _2x + y * 4 = 30 while 2 * x + y * 4 = 17. Oh, good, nothing comes to my mind._ "Erm… x is 13 while y is 4, perhaps?"

"If you examine it more carefully, you'll find that it's actually 6.5 and 1. Care to share your previous musings with the rest of the class?"

"… No, Ms. Sawako. Sorry."

"Alright. Just pay attention, okay?" _Ms. Sawako? She always called me Sawa-chan… I wonder if something happened?_

"Yes."

"Oh yeah, by the way, did anybody see Kotobuki and Hirasawa?" Sawako wandered her eyes throughout the classroom but didn't find them.

"They're probably at the infirmary. Yui's nose was bleeding, so Mugi took her there." The amber-eyed drummer answered nearly inaudible.

"Oh, I see. Thank you. I'll check on them later."

* * *

><p>*ding, dong, ding, dong*<p>

"That should conclude our lessons for today. Don't forget to review what we've learned today."

"Okay, sensei!"

The lesson for the day is over, but something made Ritsu rooted to her chair. Mugi and Yui didn't come back; the bleeding was rather bad so they decided to take her to the hospital to see if anything's broken. And Mio skipped the final class as well, dark aura emitting from her preventing anyone from even asking.

She still remembered Mio's words from the morning, to meet her at the rooftop. It didn't sound like Mio, but she had to talk to her. No one knows what struck her. Ritsu talked to herself. _I definitely need to meet her._

"What is it Mio? You skipped the final class. You never did that before. What's wrong?" Amber met stormy gray, as Mio coldly stared at the brunette. The raven-haired put a cold smile in her face. _She never put on that smile before. Her smile was always honest, from the deepest of her heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't smile. It's not her smile_. Ritsu was trying to find reasons when Mio's low, deep voice struck her dumb.

"What's wrong? You asked me what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. IT'S YOU. YOUR VERY EXISTENCE IS WRONG."

Shocked by such harsh words, Ritsu was left speechless, unable to believe her own ears. _It can't be. My ears are deceiving me. It can't be right._ Mio's words were full of anger.

"Even right now, probably you're thinking I'm a scaredy-cat, right? That I would never even dare to hurt my friends, no matter what they've done? That I would tremble at horror sights?"

"What are you –"

"SHUT UP! It was you. It was always you. Because of your stupid actions, I always thought that I'm weak. Now I'll show you, it's _you_ who're weak."

As she was saying this, Mio jumped at Ritsu, who were still rather taken aback by her harsh words. She stepped back just in time to avoid Mio's left hook.

"Hey, what's into you? This is ridiculous! If it's a joke, I suggest you cut it out -" Her words were cut when she had to duck in dodging the bassist's jab at her face.

"You think it's a joke? Guess again."

Another hook.

Dodged

Spin kick.

Hit nothing but the air as Ritsu jumped back.

"Don't just avoid, damn it! Fight me! Or do I need to show you what I'm capable of?"

"I-I can never fight you. You're my best friend. There's no way –"

"You'll regret that."

She dug her pocket, and let out a short, small dagger. It was small, but effective in close combats. Especially when your opponent is unarmed. A dagger may not harness explosive power like a sword or an axe had, but when used effectively, it can pierce through one's vital spot very easy.

"W-what happened, Mio? Y-you really… I mean…" Ritsu stammered, unable to even retaliate.

"Yes, I'm serious. I'll warn you one last time – fight me with all your might."

Despite her entire body was trembling with fear, the drummer said with sadness in her voice, "I-I can never fight you."

Mio glanced coldly at the drummer, and said, "Fine then."

She threw her bag to Ritsu's face. The girl jumped to her right in dodging it, but was surprised when she saw a dagger heading right at her. Mio threw the bag as a decoy, limiting her opponent's movement by taking them at surprise. The dagger stabbed the surprised drummer in her left shoulder. She screamed in pain as blood began to pour from her stab wound.

"I've told you to fight seriously." The bassist smiled mockingly at her wounded friend. Her eyes stared right at her body, giving chills down the brunette's spine. It's a look of a hungry wolf's eyes, getting ready to enjoy it's prey. "Don't worry, I'll spell you from any pain soon – you'll meet your parents and brother in heaven."

_Parents? Brother? What was she talking about? It couldn't be…_ The brunette broke out of her trance when a feet suddenly kicked her stab wound.

"I bid you farewell." Ritsu couldn't processed what the bassist whispered to her ear as she suddenly gasped for air. Mio's knees were digging to her lungs, and her hands wrapping around the drummer's neck. She was unable to breathe. She made a desperate effort by swinging her right hand, connecting with Mio's right temple. But the blow didn't even knock her away or made her loosened her grip. Instead, her lips upturned into a snarl, her body trembling with anger. Her eyes scanned over the brunette's shoulder.

"Hmm… this should do the trick…"

As she said this, she slammed her fist to Ritsu's right shoulder. She let loose another piercing cry of pain, as her vision began to get spotty and blurred with tears. Her right shoulder was swelling. She felt a sharp pain and nausea was hitting her as she made a desperate attempt to move her right shoulder.

"Tch, someone's coming here. And it's going to rain soon. Let's just say, you're lucky this time. If I ever meet you again, let's say it'll be your demise."

Ritsu's vision was blurring, but she was able to see Mio opened the door and slammed it. Seconds later, just as her consciousness fading away, she heard screams around her.

"Ricchan!" "Ricchan!" "Ritsu-senpai!"

"Oh god, what happened to you?" Ritsu recognized that high – pitched sound at once – it was none other than Yui's.

_Oh, the band's here… perfect. What should I say to them?_

"Hello? Could you send an ambulance to Sakuragaoka High School? A student was heavily injured." And that soft voice must be Mugi's. She somehow detected tremor in the keyboardist's voice.

"Yui – senpai, please refrain from making her feel more pain!" It must be Azusa noticing the drummer whimpered when Yui tried to check on her injuries. "Let's bring her downstairs. We need to rush her to the hospital."

"Y-yes! Help me here, Azusa!" Both guitarists carefully lifted her wounded friend and began to take her downstairs when they met Nodoka Manabe, Yui's childhood friend and member of the Student Council.

"Yui, what are you – oh my goodness. What happened to her?"

"Questions later, Nodoka-chan! We need to be quick!"

Ritsu's pain was overwhelming. She finally gave up to the pain. Her thoughts began to fade away. Then it was pitch-black.

* * *

><p>"Doctor? How's her condition?" Mugi asked worriedly to the doctor.<p>

"Well, we ran an X-ray at her. She's suffering a concussion right now. But it isn't our main problem here." The doctor answered back.

"Her arms." Azusa whispered, but audible enough to be heard by everyone there.

"'Arm' doesn't really fit her condition." The doctor explained. "It's her shoulders. Her left shoulder's rotator cuff was torn. But it was torn rather badly. I suppose she's a drummer? A single stab from a small dagger wouldn't tear the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor at once."

"Yes, she's indeed the drummer for our band." Yui spoke up quietly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"And her right shoulder is even worse. It isn't just a torn limbs or muscles. She suffered a clavicle fracture."

"Her collarbone was fractured? But doesn't it require a direct blow to it?" Yui stared quizzically at her junior as the twin-tailed guitarist asked the doctor. _Where did you get those kind of things? I really have to pay more attention to the class…_

"Not just a direct blow, my dear. It required an enormous force. Recalling to what you wrote at the form, she was found at the rooftop. So we can eliminate the chances of broken clavicle because of falling." The doctor was rather confused himself. "It's quite a rare occasion. Whatever struck her, the force nearly cause acromioclavicular dislocation. It was quite close to a type III of that AC joint separation. Anyway, it'll take probably around 3 weeks for the initial bone and soft tissue healing. But unfortunately, she won't be able to use her right arm fully for around 10 months."

"When will she regain her consciousness?" Mugi tried to control her voice, but she was unable to hide her sobs.

"She fainted from the extreme pain and a light blow to her back of the head. She should be awake tomorrow morning."

"I see."

"You're going to wait until she wakes?" The doctor took a glance at his watch, trying to remember his schedule for the rest of the day.

"I don't know about the others, but I'm staying here." Mugi answered confidently while smearing away her tears.

"I'm with Mugi-senpai. What about you, Yui-senpai?"

"Let me call Ui first. I'm also staying here."

The doctor chuckled a little. "Such a tight bond, isn't it? It must be nice for her to have friends like you."

The girls finally smiled a little, a minuscule elation surfaced.

"Tell her not to move both her arms when she wakes up. It'll lessen the pain and prevent further injuries."


	3. Chapter 3: Verse 1

**Chapter 3: Verse #1**

**A/N : First of all, my deepest gratitude for those who reviewed my fanfics... Second, starting from this chapter, I'll start writing author notes and disclaimer...**

Disclaimer : I own neither K-On! nor K-On! nor Persona series

* * *

><p>"Where are you going, Yui-senpai?" Azusa whispered as the brunette slowly walked towards the exit of the room. Both of them, alongside Mugi, were staying in Ritsu's room in the hospital.<p>

"Ehehe~~ need to use the bathroom." She answered back in her high-pitch voice.

"Yui-chan, keep your voice down!" The blonde put her index finger at her lips while whispering.

"Ups! Sorry! I'll be right back, then." She slipped out and strolled to the bathroom. "I wonder how Ui's doing…" On her way back, she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. The phone was put in silent mode, considering that silence is a must in a hospital.

"Ui? It's three in the morning… Why aren't you sleeping? Don't you have to go to school today?"

"…Onee-chan, today's Sunday. We don't have school today."

"…Ah! I forgot! Still, why aren't you sleeping?"

"I had a nightmare. I just couldn't get back to sleep, so I turned the TV on. But the news shocked me… I think you need to know."

"What was the news?"

"It's…"

* * *

><p>"Geez, what is Yui-senpai doing? Don't tell me she get lost." The twin pig-tailed junior glanced at her watch and started complaining.<p>

"Calm down, Azusa-chan. Perhaps she called Ui-chan. She seemed to worry about her." The rich keyboardist poured green tea from the tea pot to three cups. "Here, drink it. It'll help you calm down." She handed over Azusa's signature cup – the one that has a cat's face drawn on it – to her.

"Ah, thank you, Mugi-senpai." She took a sip, and leaned to her senior's bed. "Ritsu-senpai… what happened? How could you be like this?" She murmured silently towards the comatose drummer.

"Azusa-chan, why don't you get some sleep?" The blonde asked worriedly. The rhythm guitarist realized that she was indeed very tired and sleepy.

"But how about you?" She asked back. Neither of them had slept throughout the night, waiting for their friend to be awake. The doctor was unable to give an exact time of when she would. He said it depended on her resistance to anesthesia and her body's ability to recover.

"Don't worry about me. You just go get some sleep, okay? Won't want another sick person right here." She answered reassuringly and winked at Azusa. The latter just smiled and leaned her back to a chair. Five minutes went by, and she was already asleep. Mugi herself was going to fall asleep when suddenly the door slid open. Yui peeked from the outside, whispering silently.

"What was it, Yui?" Mugi asked anxiously. "Did something happen?"

"Psst… Mugi-chan! Come here for a minute!" She whispered again, trying to keep her voice down and refrained from waking up both girls. After Mugi carefully slipped out, she was able to see that Yui's eyes were wet.

"What happened, Yui-chan? Why are you crying? Ui-chan is okay, right?"

"Yes, she's fine. In fact, I was talking to her by phone."

_So that's why it took her so long._ Mugi thought. "So, what's the matter?"

"Ui told me a breaking news this morning. Then I bought a newspaper to make sure about it." She handed over a local newspaper to Mugi. _She also bought a newspaper! What news could drive her to buying something unrelated to sweets?_ She giggled at her own thoughts. But those giggles subsided when she began reading the headlines. "Oh, oh, my goodness. It can't be true."

"Unfortunately, it is." A familiar voice suddenly came up from behind Yui.

"Sawa-chan?" Both girls were surprised to see her. She wasn't there when they took Ritsu to the hospital, so how did she know about it?

"Manabe filled me in with the details. Do we have any suspects?" She spoke in a serious tone, an unexpected tone from the whimsical teacher.

"Erm… well…" Yui stuttered. Beside her, Mugi was silent, staring blankly at her feet.

"Oh, come on, you saw anything or not?" Sawako was exasperated, tapping her right foot to the floor.

"Um, Sawa-chan?" Mugi spoke up. Yui was standing speechless beside her.

"Oh, good. Finally one speaks up. What is it?"

"Please refrain from making such a noise in the hospital."

"… Fine. Now tell me what you saw."

"… To tell you the truth, I didn't see anything."

Sawako glared at the girls, but she seemed to calm down after taking a deep breath.

"I think you girls might still be in shock because of these events. I offer you my advice. Take a good rest now, try to clear up your mind. Anything you know will be helpful, so tell me if you remember something, okay? I'll make sure it goes to the police." She said in a commanding tone.

"What about the news? Should we tell them?" Yui asked desperately. These events were too much for her, even though she knew that there would be people who suffered more than her.

"I suppose not. Don't let any of them get out of the room. As soon as both of them wake up, call me. And don't bring the newspaper inside. Azusa is quite a thorough one." She waved her hand to them before walking out of the hospital.

"What are we going to do now?" The poor brunette looked helpless. She might looked like an airhead, but when it comes to her friends, she's very considerate.

"Guess we can't help it, can we? For now, let's get back to the room. You could use some tea to refresh your mind, if you don't intend to sleep, that is." Mugi somehow managed to keep her composure, but Yui could sense tremor in her voice.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hey, Mio?" She asked quizzically<em>

_The figure didn't answer. In front of her was a giant creature. She was holding battle fans in both hands._

"_Mio, what are you doing there? What is that thing?" She asked again, puzzled with the situation._

_No reaction._

_Instead, the creature started to lunge at her. She barely dodged the charge by jumping to her left. But the creature was much quicker than her. The creature used it's feet to lock down the girl on the floor, and began slicing her body with the battle fans. She let loose a piercing scream of pain. The other girl, however, just sat back and enjoyed the show. But the pain was too much…_

"Urgh…" Ritsu mumbled. Her eyelids fluttered, her parched lips started moving. Mugi was the only one who stayed awake all night long, accompanied by cups of her green tea. She leaned towards her friend's bed. _Has she regained her consciousness?_

"Ricchan?"

Instead of answering, the drummer just whimpered softly. But slowly, her eyelids drifted open.

"Ugh… where am I?" Ritsu's voice was hoarse, her vision blurred.

"Ricchan! Don't move yet." Mugi was surprised with how herself was still able to speak clearly, despite the tremble in her entire body, seeing her hurt friend, and remembering a certain breaking news from that morning. "I'll get you some water. Don't try to move, Ricchan!"

"Huh? What am I doing here?" She tried to remember what happened, but her mind was foggy. "Ah, I can't remember anything…" But as she tried to lift her right arm, the sharp pain struck her, and forced her to another scream of pain.

"What's happening here…" Yui lazily woke up from her sleep, only to be surprised with her awaken friend. "Ricchan!" She jumped right at her, trying to hug her. But Azusa seemed to grab the situation faster and tackled Yui from the side.

"Jeez, Yui-senpai, Ritsu-senpai has just woken up. Don't injure her even more! Ritsu-senpai, are you okay?" The raven-haired rhythm guitarist worriedly asked her senior, who was desperately trying to resist the pain. "The doctor told us that you've injured both of your arms, and said that you shouldn't move it anytime soon…" She continued gloomily.

"Ah, but, Ricchan, you'll be fine in no time! That doctor, Dr. Arthur if I' not mistaken, he must be a professional! He'll give you a lot of medicine, and you'll recover soon!" Yui tried to light up the situation, but Ritsu and Azusa only gave her sad looks.

"It's okay, Yui-chan. I know my body well enough to *cough, cough*" Her desperate answer was cut off by coughs. Mugi returned just in time, put the straw in the glass, and held in near her mouth. Azusa, aware of the situation, helped her senior to sit up while refraining from hurting her arms. She drank the water, and leaned on her back. "Guess HTT will need a substitute drummer, right?" She grinned, but everyone knows that smile was artificial.

"You know, Ricchan… he did said that it would take around 10 months for your right arm to fully recovers…" Mugi stared blankly at the window, trying not to show her tears to the others.

Just as Mugi finished talking, someone knocked at the door. The door slid open slowly, and Dr. Arthur alongside with two other doctors walked in.

"Oh, great! You've regained your consciousness already. I have to say, I'm surprised! A normal high school girl would take at least five more hours before waking up." Dr. Arthur praised Ritsu, but the latter asked Mugi nonchalantly, "Mugi, who're they?"

Mugi chuckled, and said, "He's Dr. Timothius Arthur, the one who's in charge for arm injuries in this hospital."

Ritsu frowned as if she's trying to remember something. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh, the one that Yui was talking about!" She instinctively waved her arms, but screamed when another sharp pain struck her.

"My, my. A careless one here, aren't you? You can call me Arthur by the way." The doctor raised his eyebrows. "You found a great way to hurt yourself, didn't you? Tearing three out of four tendons in your left arm, breaking your right collarbone… Teenagers these days." He smiled teasingly.

"'Hurt yourself' wouldn't be the perfect term to describe it, but… yeah." She gloomily answered Dr. Arthur, her head stooped.

"Whoa, whoa, no need to be down like that…" Dr. Arthur tried to comfort her. "Now, let me see your X-rays again…"

He took a quick glance at those X-rays, and turned to his friends. They discussed things over the next five minutes. Ritsu was too immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear Yui's desperate effort to comfort her. Mugi's eyes stucked at the window, her mind was simply not there. Azusa seemed frustrated with the situation, her ruby eyes brimming with tears. After they finished their talk, Dr. Arthur turned back to Ritsu.

"Eh… Ritsu-san, isn't it?" He tried to call her out, but the latter was spacing out.

"Ricchan?" Yui also tried to call her, but no response.

After that, silence filled the room. Mugi tried as well, but to no avail. Finally, Azusa reached out, tapping her senior's foot gently.

"Ritsu-senpai?"

Silence again.

"Just let me see…" Dr. Arthur stepped closer, then bowed to peek at the girl's face.

"… She passed out again."

* * *

><p><em>She found herself in the same room as before. As she looked around, the room was enormously large. There were a lot of pillars. In a side of the room was a throne. There, sat a young man. His eyes were deep black, and his stare was sharp, as if it's able to look through one. In front of him, five people were kneeling. There were four men and a girl. But none of them seemed to realize her presence. She quickly hid herself behind a pillar as she tried to eavesdrop. The man on the throne broke the silence.<em>

"_How's the plan going?" His voice was low and cold. The room stayed silence as the five looked at each other, wondering who should start. "Answer now." The last words were more a threat than a statement or and order, sending chills down their spine._

"_T-the plan was going in our predicted pace, Your Majesty." Finally, a man broke up the awkward silence. _

"_H-he's right." The girl joined in. "I've done your order with the utmost care, Your Majesty."_

"_How about you three?" He coldly stared at the rest of the group._

"_W-well, my plan was…" A man's report was cut off when the man on the throne rose up._

"_Hold on." He stared to the entire room. "None of you realized, that we weren't alone here?" _

"_W-well, there's guards outside the chamber…" The girl replied, but was shocked when a sword was held near her neck. It was the king's sword, summoned through magic._

"_Fool. Are you trying to make fool of me? Will I react to the guards' presence? Do you think I'm that stupid, unable to separate the guards' presence from a stranger's?" He glanced at the girl, who was taken aback. He then continued to scanned the room. The girl who was hiding trembled in fear. No one knows what would happened if he discovered her. And there's no other way out._

"_Found you." The king was suddenly behind her. The sword was swung…_

"No!" Ritsu opened her eyes in fear. She blinked, and looked around. _Oh, the hospital room… Must've been dreaming._

"Ricchan!" Mugi's soft voice soothed the scared girl. "What happened? Are you hurt somewhere? Do you need something? It's been two days since you passed out." She panicked, but sat down again after Ritsu smiled weakly.

"No, it's just a bad dream. And no, I'm neither hurt nor I need something. Thanks for the gesture, though." The brunette tried to keep her voice above a whisper, but was unable to do so. She glanced around and notice someone's missing. "Where's Yui?" Azusa was asleep in her chair, but the airhead was nowhere to be found.

"Ah, Yui-chan is making a call." The blonde quickly answered. "Err… Ah! I'll get you some water, okay?" She rushed out of the room, leaving the drummer and the asleep rhythm guitarist.

"Hm… I wonder what she's hiding…" Ritsu mumbled softly, gazing at a bottle full of water on a table near her bed. Not long after that, Azusa woke up. She was rather surprised that her senior was staring at the sparrows outside the window. _It's so unlike her, spacing out like that… Wait, she's not passing out again, is she? _As thoughts got snarled in her mind, she decided to call out to her.

"Erm… Ritsu-senpai?"

She sighed in relieve when her senior tilted her head towards her. "Ah, did I wake you up? Sorry, sorry." The brunette grinned, but her amber eyes lacked its' usual luster. Azusa's heart throbbed painfully when she saw this, but she regained her composure and replied back with a smile.

"No, Ritsu-senpai. I'm quite a heavy sleeper, so when I got to sleep, I won't be easily waken up, unless it's time for me to wake up."

Silence.

Azusa blushed, realizing what she was saying. _Jeez, why did I say those things… What was in my mind?_

Ritsu smiled weakly again, her face show her fatigue. "Well, well, I never knew that before… Heh, you're very similar to Mio… She… *cough cough*" Her cough took over again. Azusa, grabbing the situation, quickly poured the water to a glass, put in a straw, and held it near her senior's mouth. She drank the water. "Thanks a lot, Azusa!" She grinned. Just as Azusa put the glass down, Mugi and Yui walked through the door.

"Ricchan~~~" Yui jumped right at her. "You're awake… I'm relieved…"

"Oi, that hurts… Argh!" She winced in pain when Yui unintentionally touched her broken clavicle.

"YUI-SENPAI!" Azusa exclaimed in exasperation when she pulled Yui away, while Mugi tried to soothe Ritsu. Yui was dumbfounded when she saw an unusual scene – the drummer cried. Sure, it were tears of pain, but it had never been part of her energetic life. Yui walked slowly to her side, then leaned towards her.

"A-ah… Ricchan… I-I'm sorry…" She stammered, tears welling in her eyes' corner. Seeing this, Mugi and Azusa just smiled, as well as Ritsu.

"Heh, no problem!" Just as she finished talking, the door slid open again. "Sawa-chan!" Ritsu was shocked to see her, but Sawako didn't gave much care about that. Azusa also gasped, but quickly recovered and asked her teacher. "Sawako-sensei, why are you here?"

"Manabe filled me in three days ago. More importantly, Mugi, Yui, come with me, will you? I have something to talk about." And just like that, Ritsu and Azusa were left in the room again.

"Hey, where's your guitar? I don't think I've seen Yui's either…" Ritsu tried to start a conversation.

"Ah, we left them in the music room…" Azusa desperately tried to cheer up, but to no avail. Then awkward silence filled the room. Ritsu was simply exhausted, and Azusa didn't know anything to talk about. She felt uneasy, her mind racing to find something in order to cheer her senior up. "Ah, Ritsu-senpai, do you remember something on your injuries? I mean, who hurt you?"

"…"

"Ritsu-senpai?"

"Ah, sorry. My memory is blurry right now, can't really remember anything." She stared at the window blankly. _I can't tell them about Mio, right? _She sadly thought.

Meanwhile, Azusa was trapped in her own thoughts again. _Stupid stupid stupid Azusa what are you doing? Instead of cheering her up, I made her recall that events… I'm sure she must be having a hard time…_

"Azusa?" Ritsu spoke out of sudden again. Her voice was somewhat hoarse, so Azusa held her glass near her lips again. She sipped the water, and leaned at her back. "Do you believe in dreams?"

"Huh?" Azusa was rather taken aback by the sudden question. "Y-yes… Why are you asking this?" She stuttered. _I never thought Ritsu-senpai would have a serious side like this…_ She was lost in her mind again, but was disrupted when Ritsu began to tell her the weird dreams she had before. Her whole body was shaking after she heard that, but she somehow managed to calm herself down. Ritsu, however, gazed at her junior, and felt uneasy to put her in such a depressed state.

"Hey, hey, no need to be down like that, Azusa! Damn, I'm such an idiot! It's just weird dreams, right? Don't think about it too hard!" She tried to reassure the raven-haired. The latter just smiled, but tremor was in her voice.

"D-don't you think it might be some kind of premonitions?"

"Hee~~~ I never thought Azusa is a superstitious kind."

"I'm serious, Ritsu-senpai!"

"Whoa, whoa, no need to get worked up over that."

"…Sorry."

Their conversation was interrupted when the door slid open again. Dr. Arthur stepped in, this time alone.

* * *

><p>"Well, well. Seems like our sleeping beauty has waken up from it's slumber…"<p>

"Mind if we skip the poetry, and get right down to it?" Ritsu blatantly cut his poetic words.

"Not in the best of mood today, are we? Well, I'm only here to tell you your surgery's schedule."

"Surgery?"

"Ah, I haven't told you, have I? After my discussions with my fellow doctors, you need an immediate surgery to prevent further damage. We also doubt that your rotator cuff will be able to recover only through therapies."

"Hm… I think I missed my Biology lesson…" Ritsu mumbled to herself, trying to hide her blush.

"Your rotator cuff is your muscles and tendons that stabilize your shoulder, Ritsu-senpai." Azusa tried her best to explain. She's not the best student in her class, but she surely was above average.

"Someone needs to learn from her junior, doesn't she?" The doctor teased her again, but she was too busy gazing at him to even react. His eyes were hazel-brown, his hair was solid black.

"Uh… What are you looking at? I know I'm handsome and stuffs, but…"

"If you have time for such self-flattery, it's better for you to lend us a hand here." The door slid open again, and a female doctor stepped in.

"Ah, perfect timing! Come here. I would like to introduce you to our patient here, Ms. Ritsu Tainaka. Ritsu-san, the head doctor for arm fractures, Dr. Marettha Joy."

"Nice to meet you, um…"

"You can call me Joy. And nice to meet you too, Ritsu-san." She raised her hand, asking Ritsu to shake hands. The latter just stooped her head gloomlily.

"Uh… You know that both her arms were injured, right?" Azusa cut off. Dr. Joy looked at her, and slapped her own forehead.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! My bad… Eh, who do we have here?"

"My name is Azusa Nakano, 2nd grader at Sakuragaoka High School. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

"I'm sorry to break this, but our patient needs some rest. So, the surgery will commence at 12 tomorrow noon. Until then, make sure you get some rest." Dr. Arthur glanced at his watch. Ritsu's eyes suddenly widened, and she put up a big grin.

"Dr. Arthur?"

"Yeah? Do you need something?"

"Are the two of you… lovers?"

Silence. Azusa covered her mouth with both hands, but her chuckle eventually turned into a laughter. The two doctors blushed hard.

"First, it's not something that teenagers should know." Dr. Arthur barely pronounced those words.

"Second, our relationship is pure – I repeat, pure - professional." Dr. Joy added on.

"Ah, I see. Sorry to bother you, then." Ritsu lied on her bed, closing her eyes.

"Good night. Have a nice dream." Dr. Joy said as both doctors strolled away and closed the door. Right after that, Ritsu's eyes flipped open again.

"They must be loverbirds."

Azusa was surprised, as she thought the drummer had slept. But she couldn't suppress her laughter.

"You're right. Ah, by the way, Mugi-senpai and Yui-senpai hasn't come back yet…"

"Sawa-chan's with them, no need to worry. You also need some rest, Azusa. Relax, I can handle things myself."

"You definitely can't."

"Oh, c'mon, I'm sleeping right now… what would I need?"

"… Alright, but wake me up if you ever need something, okay? Promise me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Then, good night, Ritsu-senpai. Have a nice dream."

_Have a nice dream… huh? I wonder…_ Ritsu was lost in her mind again, before finally deciding to sleep over it.

* * *

><p>"Girls, behave yourselves. It's my car." Sawako pointed out while driving. On the back seat were Yui and Mugi, both looking excited to ride on their teacher's car.<p>

"But it's my first time here!" Yui grinned.

"Sawa-chan, where are we going?" Mugi seemed to be less excited.

"We're going to a friend of mine. She knows something about the disaster, but she said it was confidential, so we need to go to her place."

"So, how do you plan to fill those two in? About the disaster, you know." Mugi asked.

"We'll figure that out later. Let's deal with these problems one at a time, okay?"


	4. Chapter 4: Reffrain

**Chapter 4: Reffrain**

**A/N: *huff*huff* yeah, I finally finished this chapter. Although it's school holiday, I can't seem to pick up the pace T.T Well blame my classmates for inviting me to joyful and precious outings ^^. Oh yeah, I also want to add that if the names used here resemble anyone out there, it's a pure coincidence. No offense intended. And so, the disclaimer... please enjoy.**

Disclaimer : I own neither K-On! nor K-On! nor Persona series**  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"Norimi! Here we are." Sawako ran at her friend, Mugi and Yui trailing behind her.<p>

"Hm? What happened with the rest? I thought the band had five?" Norimi glanced at her before picking up another phone call. "Hm? Yeah, yeah, I got the words already. Relax. Yeah, yeah. Call me if you get another progress, okay?"

"Sorry about that, Sawako. The front line's pretty busy these days."

"Yeah, yeah. Now, these girls are anxious about your confidential information. Could you make it fast? We have a surgery to attend to at 12."

"Surgery?"

"Oh, for God's sake. I'll fill you in later. Now tell us what you know."

"That's right *pant pant*, Norimi-san! *pant pant*" Mugi tried to catch her breath. Yui was right behind her, sitting on the ground. She was close to hyperventilating, but she took a deep breath and managed to calm herself down.

"Okay, I don't have much time myself, so I'll only tell you girls once. Listen carefully." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sure you're pretty aware of the disaster, right? My men scanned the whole area, no survivors."

"We've known that already, Norimi-san." Mugi stooped her head, still panting from her run. "We've known about what happened." Yui stared at the busy soldiers, running back and forth, carrying various utilities.

"Yeah, but what you don't know is _who_. _Who_ is behind this incident, right?" Norimi sipped her coffee before continuing. "We already have suspects, and one might be familiar for you."

"…Mio." Sawako mumbled. Mugi had a sudden interest in her shoes while Yui wept silently, hiding her head between her knees.

"Indeed. This girl was last seen four days ago near your school. She's now nowhere to be found. But one of our men from the northern base, who was assaulted yesterday, gave us some descriptions about the attacker, and it fits her figure. But make sure none of the words leak out." Norimi continued carefully.

"Is that all?" Sawako put her glasses off. "If that's all, we would like to have some rest now. Thanks for the information, though." She gestured her students to follow her into the car. While they were walking, Norimi picked up another call.

"Huh? Are you sure? Okay. Okay. Local hospital. Tomorrow? 1 p.m.? Okay. Yeah." She seemed more excited when she gave chase to the girls.

"What's up, Norimi?" Sawako looked weary, but she did turn around.

"Listen up. I've got an update from the R&D team. They found out that the siege force was… inhuman."

"Inhuman? Now what kind of nonsense this is?" Sawako looked pretty serious. She might blew the air out of her friend's lungs had Norimi told her that she was simply joking around. But Norimi seemed also serious about it.

"I'm serious. They're sending a pro from China right now. He would arrive here at around 10 a.m. tomorrow. I've arranged him to meet you at the hospital at 1.p.m. tomorrow. Make sure you're there." She waved her hand and jogged back to her camp. Sawako then gestured her students to get into the car.

"I'll take you girls back to the hospital. We'll tell Azusa first. Ritsu will be told after the surgery. She'll need to calm down before the surgery." Sawako told the girls. Mugi nodded while Yui was staring out of the side window.

"Yui? You hear me? Any words leaked out from you, I can't tell you the consequences, not just for you, but for her as well." Sawako pointed out while heating up her car. The brunette still spaced out. She came back when Mugi poked her left hand.

"Yui-chan? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Ah, sorry! Ehehehhe~~~" Yui grinned. Mugi and Sawako smiled, both shaking their head. Her innocent smile made people unable to scold her. Mugi kindly repeated what their teacher said. Yui nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>Ritsu slowly opened her eyes. A beam of sunlight sneaked through the curtains. She moaned when the light met her eyes, and slowly moved herself out of the beam's range. She gritted her teeth to endure the pain. She glanced at the clock. <em>It's already ten in the morning. Just two more hours before surgery, eh? I've never been there before. I wonder…<em> Her line of thoughts was cut by a loud snore beside her. _Yui? When did she… Oh, right. She must came here after I fell asleep last night._ She didn't seem annoyed by the noise, but Azusa yawned as her eyelids slowly opened.

"Jeez, Yui-senpai, keep your voice down…" She whispered to the brunette. "You might wake Ritsu-senpai…" She turned her heads and surprised to see the drummer grinning at her.

"Ah, R-Ritsu-senpai! Sorry to make such a fuss! Y-you can go back to sleep, you know. I'll make sure Yui-senpai won't bother you anymore!" She flustered, but then recollected herself. She moved to her senior's side and gestured her to go back to sleep, but the latter just shook her head.

"No, no, no, you don't wake me up. I woke up just before Yui snored."

"Oh, I see. Good morning to you, then." Azusa drew her chair near the Ritsu's bed and opened the curtain.

"Yeah, good morning to you, too." Ritsu tried to move both of her lower arms. They did move a bit, but she twisted in pain.

"Ritsu-senpai! What are you doing!" Azusa exasperated. She cared about her, but it seemed that the brunette didn't care about herself. "Jeez, could you refrain from hurting yourself?"

"Hey, the pain subsided. It was quite quick, you know."

"Well, Dr. Arthur came in last night and replaced the IV with a new one. He told me that he mixed a new medicine that would help you recover faster." She answered, looking at the yellow IV. The previous color was transparent. "That aside, did you have a nice dream?"

The question made Ritsu surprised. It only hit her mind at that time, that she didn't dream last night. The first time in a couple of days.

"Heh, I didn't dream last night." She answered happily. Azusa also smiled, relieved.

"That's great. You'll be able to rest properly now." Their chat was interrupted when a nurse came into the room.

"Excuse me, Ms. Tainaka. The surgery will be pulled to 11.15. Please come with me now. We'll prepare for the surgery."

"Oh, I see. Okay then…" She made an attempt to get off her bed, but the nurse gestured her to lie back.

"Just lie down. The bed has wheels, so we can carry the bed with you." The nurse began to push the drummer's bed to the surgery room. "Well, if you'll excuse us." She nodded to Azusa, but seemed to be struggling with the IV stand. Azusa grabbed the situation and offered her help.

* * *

><p>"Huahhhh… Azunyan… It's still one o'clock…" Yui mumbled when Azusa shrugged her, telling her to wake up.<p>

"Yeah, exactly. 01.00 p.m. That's why you need to get up." She flipped her phone open, texting her parents again. _I've sent them ten emails since yesterday, but they didn't answer any of them. What happened?_

"Huamm…" Yui slowly opened her eyes only to see her friend's bed gone."WHERE'S RICCHAN? RICCHAN! RICCHAN!" She flustered, looking around. Azusa only shook her head and stopped her senior just when she started to run out the room.

"Ritsu-senpai's surgery was rescheduled to be at 11.15. That's why she's already at the prep room." She calmly answered while slipping her phone back to her blazer's pocket. "Mugi-senpai was talking with Sawako-sensei again. They told me that we should head to the backyard after you wake up."

Yui's eyes widened as she heard that. She stooped deeply. "O-oh, yeah, sure. Let's go there, shall we?"

Azusa stared at her senior. Curious about what she's hiding. But nonetheless, both of them strolled to the destined location. As they arrived there, Sawako began telling her about the news. Azusa only stared in disbelief  
>"No. No. No. You have to be lying, right? It can't be right. This isn't funny sensei. If it's a joke, I suggest you cut it off right now…" She stared right into Sawako's eyes. But Sawako only nodded. Azusa felt strength left her body. Her knees buckled. She nearly collapsed flat in the ground, but Mugi caught her in time.<p>

"I've told you that we should talk about in inside the hospital." Sawako raised her shoulders.

"What if Azunyan went screaming out wild? It would surely bother other patients…" Yui pointed out. Mugi frowned, looking uncomfortable with her fainted friend.

"Um… any better time for jokes? She's rather heavy despite her looks."

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Let's lie her down inside, okay?" Sawako glanced at her watch. "C'mon, I need to meet up with the person from China."

They lied the rhythm guitarist at a couch near the room instead, because the bed was taken with Ritsu earlier. Mugi went to the registration area to talk about payments, while Yui waited patiently beside Azusa. Sawako walked back and forth in front of the hospital, when suddenly a man ran towards her.

"_**Ah, ni hao! Wo de mingzi shi Theodore Caesar, Julius Caesar de zengsun!"**_**.**

"…"

"Hahahaha. Sorry, sorry. My name's Theodore Caesar, you can call me Theo."

"Sawako here. Let's get down to business, shall we?" Sawako raised her eyebrows. Both of them waltzed back into the hospital, where the girls were waiting. Mugi and Yui rose up, both bowed respectfully. Theo raised his right hand and bowed as well in return.

"Mugi, how's it going with the payment?" Sawako worriedly asked the blonde. She might be a teacher, but her salaries wouldn't be enough for all of that. The latter just smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry. They said the cost will be reduced due to national disaster. I've paid half of it, and the rest of it when she checked out." She explained her conversation with the cashier. Hearing that, all of them sighed in relief.

"Alright, if you're done with your little chit-chat…" Theo cut their chatter bluntly. "I'd like to tell you a few things. But promise me, you won't tell anyone else. And also keep your voice down." He waved his hands, gesturing the girls to take a seat. "Do you believe me, if I tell you, a day is not forever 24 hours?"

"Huh?" All three of them gasped, surprised by the sudden remark. Yui took a lot of time to put that single information to her brain. Mugi tilted her head, considering broad possibilities to respond. But Sawako cut that awkward silence by standing up. She looked rather confused herself, but tried her best to keep her cool.

"Erm… would you care to elaborate?" She politely asked Theo, but the latter smiled mockingly.

"Oooh… We've three airheads right here. No matter, I'll explain it slowly." He drew a chair near the girls'. But the sharp sound of the chair being dragged across the floor attracted people's attention, and waking up Azusa. She sat up, rubbing her head. Mugi quickly sat beside her. She rubbed the rhythm guitarist's back, trying to soothe her. Sawako grabbed the situation and turned to Theo.

"Sorry, I think we have to talk about this personally. Let's head to the backyard, shall we? Give them some time to rest." They made their way to the backyard when Azusa started to weep again. Yui slowly sat beside her.

"Y-Yui-senpai…" She fought hard through her sobs. Yui and Mugi looked at each other, and both gave their junior warm smiles.

"Azunyan~~~" Yui tried to hold her tears back. "My house is a little too big for two, and I'm sure Ui won't mind two more…"

Azusa's constant sob subsided. Miniscule luster was restored in her scarlet eyes. Garnet orbs, wet with tears, met with sapphire blue as Mugi squatted in front of her.

"Listen, Azusa-chan." Her soft voice flooded Azusa's heart with warmth. "We're always here for you. Anytime you need anything, just let us know, okay?" Azusa nodded slightly, just when the operation room's door creaked open. Dr. Arthur and Dr. Joy waltzed out the room. Yui jumped out and rushed at the doctors.

"Doctor! How's the operation going?" But rather than answering right away, Dr. Arthur wiped sweats from his face with his handkerchief. His face seemed exhausted. Dr. Joy took a seat at a nearby chair. Her face showed no less fatigue than Dr. Arthur's.

"Ah, yes, the operation." He took a deep breath. The girls held their breath, anticipating for the worst news. But the doctor smiled proudly.

"Heh, walk in the park for me." Dr. Joy rose up and waved her hand towards him, gesturing him to go to the doctor's room. But she stopped and her face looked puzzled when she turned around.

"What did you inject her with? I've never seen that yellow liquid before." The man frowned, but his eyes suddenly widened as if he remembered something.

"Oh, yeah, that. New stuffs from the R&D. Helps her recovery." He then turned to the anxious girls. "Just relax. She'll be fine. The anesthesia was projected for at least one more hour, but considering her resistance, she'll be awake in around 10 minutes."

The doctors strolled back to their room and the girls rushed into the waiting room. The drummer was still comatose, but her face showed less pain than before. All of them sighed in relief. But Azusa still stooped her head, stifling pain echoed in her heart. She couldn't believe the news that reached her. But as she raised her head, she saw her injured senior. It suddenly struck her mind. She turned her head intently at Mugi, who looked puzzled but smiled gently at her.

"What it is, Azusa?"

"Erm… about the news…"

"…Yes? What's about it?"

"How about Ritsu-senpai?"

"…Of course." Mugi murmured. Yui rubbed Azusa's back again as the rhythm guitarist started to weep again.

"Don't worry, Azunyan, like I said earlier, Ui wouldn't mind two more…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Sawako and Theo were having a chat at the backyard.<p>

"So, you're trying to imply that when the fog comes down, there'll be a specific hour where the dimension borders snarled and create distortion?"

"Yeah, whatever comes to your mind… My point is, the last siege couldn't be done with bare human hands. And, from what I can conclude from my previous researches, they did it with the help of Personas."

"Personas?"

"Yeah. There's no legitimate explanation to what're them, but from what I can tell, it varies depending on the user's personality, hence named Persona."

"Wow. You seemed to know a lot… Now, how to awaken a Persona? Because my instinct says that if we want to make our move, we better make it fast."

"Easy there, missy. From what I can tell, it's already within you. You just have to concentrate yourself, and chant some words to trigger the Persona. From there onwards, it's your own decision."

"Well… Where to start?"

"I ran some researches earlier with the data from your friend, Norimi, if I'm not mistaken. I've come with a conclusion that you contain a Persona from the Justice Arcana."

"Arcana? Now what's that?"

"Think of it as a class. There are around twenty different Arcanas, each with it's own powers and weaknesses."

"Great. Now what can I do?"

"Hm… First of all, your Persona seemed to be an _Angel_. But we'll have to check it out ourselves. I just ran a quick research, you know."

"Let's do it now, shall we?"

"No. Personas only awaken during the specific hour – I'll refer to it as Distorted Hour from now – to prevent casualties in real life. So yeah, we need to wait."

"Oh well. Can't help it. So, how do we know when the Distorted Hour will come?"

"Believe me, you'll get used to it. I'll tell you when it comes. For now, do you have some data regarding your students? I believe they're Persona users as well… I want to run another research first."

"I'll see if I can help you…"

* * *

><p>The waiting room was silent. The only sounds heard were clock's arms ticking restlessly, and soft breaths from the girls. No one has spoken since Yui answered Azusa's concern. The former frequently sent emails to her sister at home. Azusa stooped her head deeply, trying her best to accept that reality's, indeed, cruel. Mugi leaned towards Ritsu's bed, waiting for the drummer to wake up. After ten minutes that felt like eternal, Ritsu's right hand twitched feebly. Mugi felt the movement, and lifted her head.<p>

"Ricchan?" Her soft voice was full of hope. Hearing the keyboardist's call, both guitarists nearly jumped out of their respective seats. The drummer's eyebrows twitched, her eyelids fluttered.

"Nnggh…"

"Ricchan!" Yui jumped at her friend, only to find Azusa had grabbed her from behind. When she turned her head, she saw Azusa glared furiously at her.

"YUI-SENPAI. SIT DOWN."

"Y-yes…" The lead guitarist sat back at her chair while Mugi and Azusa worriedly looked at Ritsu. The latter finally opened her eyes. But she was forced to clench them tightly by beams of light piercing through her amber eyes. She opened them slowly after some excruciating moments, and through her blurry views, she spotted her friends calling her name from the side of her bed. She felt her left hand was connected with an IV, so with disorganized thoughts, she moved her right hand. She managed to find Mugi's hand. Mugi, Azusa, and Yui widened their eyes, noticing how the drummer moved her hand without grimacing a lot of pain like last time. Mugi gripped Ritsu's hand while the others stood around her.

"R-Ricchan? Y-you could move your hands?" She stammered, surprised by the sudden recovery. Ritsu stared at her own arm, and moved it again. It moved smoothly. She frowned, but the pain that struck her was far less than before. She tried to move her left one. It also moved freely, only to be stopped by the IV's hose.

"Hey, you're right!" She gradually sat up by the assistance of her friends' hands. She huffed hard. The anesthesia seemed to cost her most of her energy. The overexertion from just then sapped more. Despite the miraculous recovery, her voice was still raspy. Not to mention nausea that constantly struck her. But knowing to be able to move her hands lit her back up again.

"So, when will I be able to come back home?"

Mugi gulped hard when she heard the question. Azusa turned around to hide hear welling tears, while Yui was the only one who volunteered to do the job.

"Uh, we haven't asked them yet, Ricchan. But, don't worry, at this rate, you'll be out in no time!"

Outside the window, black clouds were hovering the entire city. Drops of rain started to fall. Drizzle. Then it turned to quite a heavy rain. Thunder roared in the distance.

"Oh, it's raining outside." Ritsu said as Azusa wheeled her bed back to her room. All nurses somehow found themselves occupied at that time, so Azusa voluntarily took her back.

"Yes, it seems like it won't stop for the time being… Why don't you have a rest, Ritsu-senpai?"

"Nah… Anyway, Yui and Azusa are in the doctor's room, right? Can't wait to get back home…"

Mugi gulped hard again before forced up a smile. "Y-yes.. Don't worry, senpai."

Ten minutes went by as the two girls chattered. The rain kept pouring down on the outside, and the fog started to layered down again.

* * *

><p>"Right. So, based on your information…" Theo lifted his head from his laptop. He and Sawako had been sitting in the waiting room for the last half an hour. "I've managed to make this list." He showed her the document in his laptop.<p>

_Yui = Fool Arcana, Orpheus Talos_

_Ritsu = Chariot Arcana, Futsunushi_

_Tsumugi = Priestess Arcana, Kikuri-hime_

_Azusa = Star Arcana, Neko Shogun_

"But tell me, which one is this Yui kid? She possessed… unique power."

"Huh?" Sawako raised her eyebrows as she scrutinized the list again. _Fool Arcana. Yeah, fits that airhead._ "The brunette you saw earlier. She's Yui."

"She possessed the Number Zero. Empty, but can be filled by broad –if not infinite- possibilities." Theo shook her head, judging the situation. Sawako opened her mouth, but she stopped before she even began to speak when she saw Yui and Mugi approaching. Both of them bowed slightly as they made their way.

"So, what did he said?" Sawako rose up from her seat.

"Well… I don't really understand medical terms, but he said Ricchan could leave tomorrow!" Yui's high-pitched voice made Theo's eyebrows twitched. _This girl? The Fool? Hell, never judge a book by it's cover…_

"Tomorrow… huh? Yui, can I send those over now? I'm afraid I won't have much time by tomorrow morning…" Sawako dug her pocket, and pulled a key for her car. She gestured Mugi to come with her. She nodded, and Yui sent an email via her phone.

"Okay, I've told Ui you'll be coming soon. Err… I'll go to Ricchan, okay?" She waved her hand, making her way back to Ritsu's room.

Back in the room, Azusa and Ritsu were immersed in their talk that they barely noticed Yui had come back.

"Yahhooo~~~ Ricchan~~~ Azunyan~~~" Yui jumped straight and latched herself onto the poor junior.

"Yui-senpai, get off me!" Azusa shrugged her senior off. Ritsu laughed at the common scene.

"So, what did the doctor say?" The brunette asked after her laugh subsided. Azusa stared at the lead guitarist who was sipping the tea from her cup.

"O-oh, yeah, Ricchan, you're permitted to leave tomorrow after the final checkups!" She stammered, leaving the drummer in confusion. _What's with her? Telling me that I'm going out tomorrow can't be that bad, can it?_

* * *

><p>"So…" Sawako put down two suitcases on the floor. "These suitcases, alongside with those, will be fine in this room?" She glanced at the two suitcases Mugi put down earlier. Ui was in front of them, carrying a pile of her clothes.<p>

"Yes, sensei. I believe I can handle the rest…" Ui smiled towards the teacher, but the latter shook her head.

"No, no, we'll be happy if we can be of any help." Mugi added in. Ui chuckled, and climbed upstairs. Sawako and Mugi began unpacking the suitcases and put them in two separate closets.

* * *

><p><em>She woke up at a familiar chamber. The one she saw in her previous dreams. She's there again, but this time, only the king was present. His hazel eyes were lit with anger. From his expression, certainly he's unfriendly at the moment. The girl, not as taken aback as last time, hid herself behind a pillar and observed the king. The king suddenly stretched his neck, his eyes looking for the clandestine in his residential. The girl's heart began to palpitate as the king began to waltz towards her. She thought hard but find no way out. Out of the blue, she felt shiver down her spine. As she turned around, she could see the king towering in front of her. "You…" His voice was low. "How did you get here?"<em>

_The girl staggered, and ran towards the huge double door. But the king had no intention to let go of his prey as he blinked in front of the girl and stabbed the sword at the girl. She evaded it by an inch, and ducked in time as the man swung the sword horizontally, cutting a part of her hair. She ran frantically, opening the door and rushed through the relatively empty hallway. But she saw nothing but darkness up ahead. As she found herself lost in the darkness, her run stopped. She raised her hand, only to feel the cold wall ahead of her. Suddenly, she felt a blunt object struck her head. The blow wasn't quite hard, but the girl collapsed flat to the ground. She moaned, but unable to even move her fingers. It's as if her soul was shattering and her energy was sapped away. She struggled for at least five seconds before finally giving in to the darkness._

Ritsu's eyes flipped open. Cold sweat flooded her hands, but she felt warmth hovering over them. Mugi was clutching her left hand, while Yui did the same thing with her right one. Ritsu let a weak smile left her lips as Azusa rubbed her garnet eyes as she was waking up.

"Ah, good morning, Ritsu-senpai. Erm… having those bad dreams again?" The raven haired stared straight into the drummer's face. The latter was rather taken aback, and shook her head slowly.

"Can you read minds?"

"Anyone will notice if you keep wearing a frown in your face." It was obvious that the rhythm guitarist was a thorough one, but the brunette herself didn't notice her own expression, so the former must be scrutinize enough to realize that. She grinned and asked. "Better?"

Azusa curved her lips and let out a relieved sigh. "Much." She carefully dragged her chair near to Ritsu's bed. Specks of light from the sunray peeked into the room through the curtain. The door slid open and a nurse slowly stepped into the room.

"Excuse me, Ritsu-san, but we need to take you for the final checkup. You can go home after that." She smiled reassuringly. "Oh, yeah, the doctor also told me to let you try walking by your own feet. He said it's some kind of rehabilitation phase."

"Huh? Oh, sure, I also want to try it myself, but this cat won't let me.." Ritsu smiled teasingly at Azusa, who then frowned good-manneredly.

"Ritsu-senpai, it's for your own good. And no, I'M NOT A CAT." Her grumble produced quite a fuss in the morning, causing both Mugi and Yui to come back from dreamland. "Ah, you better leave now, Ritsu-senpai. Yui-senpai can make things harder, believe me." The junior gestured her to leave the room immediately. The nurse grinned, amused by the situation, and slowly walked outside. Ritsu tailed her despite the staggering, and managed to keep up with her. At that instance, Sawako was strolling into the room and met the two.

"Ah, good morning, . Taking our patient for a walk?" She respectfully asked. The nurse smiled and bowed slightly.

"No, just the final checkups. She can go home after that, but you need to deal with the check-out in the registration. Now, if you'll excuse us." She began to walk again. Sawako winked at the trailing drummer.

"Hang in there." The brunette meekly nodded. And with that, both of them continued their respective walk.

Sawako reached the room shortly after, when she saw another familiar scene. Mugi was observing dreamily as Yui hugged Azusa just like usual. She shook her head.

"Guys, we have a problem."

* * *

><p>"So, how are you feeling? Better?" Dr. Arthur thoroughly scrutinize X-rays and graphs from Ritsu's injury. The latter was still panting from her walk earlier.<p>

"Yeah, but what was that? I mean, do all surgeries give instant recovery?"

"Ohohoho, no, of course. Lucky you, our R&D found a new medicine. They finished the testing just a few days before you came here."

"I… see."

"Anyway, I don't see any further injuries… Just take these pills with you." He handed two bottles of pills to her. "Take a pill, three times a day. After breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It'll help your recovery."

Ritsu took them both and shoved them into her pocket. "Anything else?"

"Wow. Back to high spirits again? Well, good for you. Had you had any of those gloomy aura around you, I would send you to psychiatrist… But, yeah, you can go home now. Just don't forget to take those pills, okay?" Ritsu rose up and bowed respectfully.

"You have my sincere gratitude, doctor." Dr. Arthur also rose up and waved his hand while grinning.

"Oh, no need for such formalities. The bottom line is that you're recovering, and that's my job."

Ritsu smiled and waved her hand. "Once again, thank you very much." She also bowed and smiled at the nurse who opened the door for her. She waltzed back to her room, eager to get back to normal life. But she didn't know that life's not coming back to normal – the ride would get even bumpier.

* * *

><p>"Ah, there she is." Those words were the first to greet the brunette as she stepped back to her room. They were blurted out of a certain teacher, none other by Sawako.<p>

"Ricchan!" That high-pitched voice, and the hug just now, must be that lead guitarist, Yui. Behind her was a blonde staring peacefully, and her singsong voice soothed her soul. Yes, she's sure it's Mugi. And the twin-tailed rhythm guitarist was the one with the relieved sigh, went by the name of Azusa. The brunette only grinned widely.

"So… if you all excuse me, I'd like to go home for today… I'll come to school tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Erm… Ricchan, about that…" Mugi stuttered, making Ritsu turned around again.

"What?"

"Ah, we figured you might still be exhausted, so I offered them a ride, and they told us to take you too… Are you coming?" Sawako broke the awkward silence. Ritsu raised her eyebrows, surprised by the sudden generosity. She had always found various reason to avoid them riding in her car, but she _**offered**_ them?

"Sure, why not?'

And so, all of them went by Sawako's car. Inside was filled by unusual, deafening silence. Ritsu, sitting in the front, was too busy with her MP3 Player. Mugi, Azusa, and Yui were too nervous to even start up a conversation, all of them looking at each other stiflingly. Finally, Yui spoke up.

"Ne, ne, Ricchan, what are you listening to?"

"Huh?" She pulled her right headset. "Skillet. Comatose, it is."

"Is it a good song?" Mugi pitched in.

"Heh, perhaps. Just feels like listening to it today." As she was saying this, Sawako's car turned on a corner.

"Sawa-chan? My house is that way, you know." Ritsu pointed out. But Sawako simply shrugged.

"O-oh, yeah. We're going to Yui's house first, if that's fine with you."

"Hm? Fine then. No problem with me." The car proceeded smoothly through the rather empty streets. It took no longer than 10 minutes to reach the Hirasawa residence. But when they reached there, Yui didn't get off the car immediately. Instead, all of them looked at each other, helpless. Ritsu frowned at Yui.

"Yui, quick! I want to come home, too!"

With that sentence, everyone gulped hard. Azusa stooped deeply, while Sawako looked out through the window. Mugi and Yui looked at each other, and Yui nodded slightly.

"…home." Yui whispered softly.

"Huh? What's that?" Ritsu started to lose patience.

"It's … home." Still in the whispery voice.

"Um… I can't hear you?" Ritsu bemusedly asked.

"It's your home…" Tears began to trickle down Yui's cheek.

"What do you mean?" Ritsu cocked her head, trying to understand what she had been desperately trying to say.

"Ricchan…" Sawako said while still gazing away. "_**This**_ is your home. Your house is gone. It was obliterated on the last siege. No survivors were found."

"W-wha…" Ritsu opened her mouth widely, unable to believe what she heard.

"We talked to Yui and she said she won't mind you and Azusa living with them." Mugi tried her best to hold her sobs.

"I-I…" Ritsu stammered, flummoxed by the situation.

"Sorry we didn't tell you earlier, Ricchan…" Yui smeared away some of her tears. Azusa hugged her knees and hid her head in between. Constant sobbing was heard from her, though.

"B-but, don't worry! Ui and I will take good care of you two!" Yui tried to cheer her up. But sobs were the only thing heard from the front seat. After a few minutes, the sound subsided. Sawako turned her head to check on her condition.

"Ricchan, are you – oh, great, she fainted."

"Let's bring her inside. We'll explain everything after she wakes up."

* * *

><p>Thirty excruciating minutes went by. The only sound heard in the living room of Hirasawa residence was the clock ticking restlessly. Sawako was in the yard, talking to her friend via phone. Ritsu lied on a couch, still passing out. The rest of the girls were speechless, just sitting around. But suddenly they heard mumbles from the couch.<p>

"Ricchan?" Mugi worriedly asked. The brunette sat up, then began to cry again. Azusa rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. Ui hurried to the kitchen and took a glass, filled it with water, and handed it over to Ritsu. After gulping the water, the cry stopped, leaving sobs and trails of tears in her face.

"Ritsu-senpai, I know how you feel. But we must look forward to the future." Azusa whispered softly. Ritsu nodded meekly.

"Sawa-chan said that her friend at the police army will contact her as soon as possible if they find your relatives. Both of you are put in top of priority list, she said." Mugi's singsong voice chimed in. Ritsu finally held her head back up. She sniffed a few times prior to a weak smile.

"T-thank you."

Yui jumped up all of the sudden and put on a wide grin. "Captain Ricchan, Private Yui right here, vow to take care of Captain and my kitty right here!" Ritsu, Mugi, and Ui couldn't help but chuckled. Giggles that turned to laughter as Azusa also jumped out and glared angrily at her.

Another disaster, another restoration. Life went back and forth, just like rowing a boat, right?

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: **well... 4 chapters already and no action scenes yet? lol I promise that the fight will begin in the next chapter... and just for your information, those "words" they need to chant in order to trigger Persona, will be taken from the Yggdra Union, so I'll start including it in the disclaimer on the next chapter.**

**oh, by the way, the song Ritsu was listening, it was Skillet - Comatose. It's a great song, and part of the lyrics resembled her situation... guess by urself ^^. And the last line was inspired from Rie Fu - Life is Like a Boat. It's also a great song, an ending from the Bleach series... Make sure you hear 'em. Reviews please, and we shall meet in the next chapter...**


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